lunes, 31 de agosto de 2009

As I begin this journey exploring sociocultural and historical aspects of Latin music and dance from a feminist perspective, I find it important to take a look, first of all, at my initial location - where do I come from, what are my personal experiences related to the topic? What ideas and feelings related to Latin music and dance am I starting off with?
I will say that I identify as a young Latina (all at once Latin-American by birth, of Hispanic heritage, and a migrant in the U.S., so, regardless of which of the many definitions of the word you pick, it will still fit me). I am half Argentinian, half Panamanian, born in the former, raised in the latter. I like to joke that I'm Argentinian when I dance tango, and Panamanian when I dance salsa -- and it's true. The many years I have spent in the U.S. have also shaped who I am. It has already been a number of years since I started dreaming and thinking in English, and referring to Americans in the first person plural. I am proud of my ethnicity and cultural background, and once I bought a t-shirt that read "Latina is beautiful". Music and dance have always been an important part of my life, and I currently teach and perform professionally. I also identify as a feminist, one who seeks equality and resists oppression in all its forms (gender, race, sexuality, class, economic, etc).
That being said, I can think of no better way to explore where I am speaking from than by examining a poem I wrote a few years ago. I will present the original Spanish version below, as well as an attempt at a noted translation. It must be kept in mind that by the very nature of the poem, many colloquial words without literal translation present concepts difficult to explain to a foreign mind. I also include the text from the original post on my personal blog, where I first published this poem, in order to further contextualize my location.
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Friday, January 20, 2006
today, i told my dad: "la vida a lo gringo es como cafe descafeinado con splenda ... la vida a lo latino es cafe tinto con azucar morena " ("life American style is like decaf coffee with splenda, life Latino style is like espresso with brown sugar")

today, someone who knows me well, said: "you are too latina for your own good"

today, a close friend decided that the worse and most offensive insult someone could say to me would be: "you dance like a gringa"

Here's a poem about women, Latin-American music and the Latin-American way of life I wrote last year:
Danza, mujer, el ritmo
tropical de los tambores
con ese tumbao caribeño de las caderas,
con esa cadencia decadente y elegante.
Es la cultura de la cintura,
la historia de son y sal,
del viento tras las palmeras
persistente y furioso como el mar.

Danza, mujer, el ritmo
latino de la guitarra,
con ese arte alegre y antiguo,
con ese aire de fiesta eterna,
Es el calor que se lleva en las venas,
la desesperada calma que se arrastra en los pies,
la resignada esperanza del desamparo,
espontáneo y medido como la música.

Danza, mujer, el ritmo
mestizo de las maracas
con esa pasión de cuerpos contiguos,

con ese amor a lo mutuo y compartido.
Es el culto bailable a la fertilidad,

la conexión a la tierra y la gravedad,

la herencia de tres continentes,

milagrosa e inestable como la paz.

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Dance, woman, the tropical
rhythm of the drums
with that Caribbean
tumbao (1) of the hips,
with that elegant and decadent cadence.
It's the culture of the waist,
the history of
son (2) and salt,
the wind among the palm trees,
persistent and furious, just like the sea.

Dance, woman, the Latin
rhythm of the guitar,
with that ancient and joyous art,
with those airs of eternal
fiesta (3).
It's the heat we carry in our blood (4),
the desperate calmness we drag in our feet,
the resigned hope of el desamparo (5),
spontaneous and measured, just like music.

Dance, woman the
mestizo (6)
rhythm of the
maracas (7)

with the passion of contiguous bodies,

with love for that which is mutual and shared.
It's the danceable cult to fertility,

the connection to the earth and to gravity,

the heritage of three continents,

miraculous and unstable, just like peace.


(1) tumbao is a Caribbean slang word similar to the words "strut" or "swing". It refers to moving the feet or hips with a certain grace, sensuality, rhythm, swagger, groove, or flavor, especially when dancing or walking.

(2) Son refers to a particular sound, rhythm, mood, or melody. It is also used in Latin America to refer to a song with a lively, danceable beat. It is also a Cuban rhythm.

(3) Unlike the English "party", the Spanish "fiesta" also refers to fetivals, holidays, or any kind of festive celebrations, including religious festivities.

(4) the expression "llevar en la sangre" refers to something inhereted. It is used to refer to something a whole group of people or culture share ,or a family trait.

(5) abandon, helplessness, without protection or refuge, relinquished.

(6) mestizo means of mixed race. In Latin-America there was much more intermarriage between the Europeans and the natives, as well as with the Africans that were brought later, than in the U.S. or Canada. This process is called mestizaje and is, among other reasons, probably due to the fact that in one case mostly men were arriving to conquer territories, while in the other entire families were migrating to create new settlements. As a result, terms like "biracial" are not often used in Latin-America, where most everybody is mestizo in one way or the other.

(7) the references to the drums, guitar, and maracas, allude to the African, European, and Indigenous American influences in Latin music respectively.